Roads, terrain, gearing best for burning calories.

[MikeF]

I ususally go out for a 2+ hour ride or so Saturdays and Sundays. I vary the route as I live in south downs country and I have the choice of hilly versus gently undulating. I have a feeling (not necessarily backed up by fact or Garmin readings) that 2 hours cycling on a flattish route uses more calories than 2 hours cycling through the hills, the reason being that on a flattish ride I'm pedalling all the time, whereas on a hily ride I tend to rest going down hills.

Similar for me High/Low Weald and I've often wondered the same. As you note on the flat you are pedalling all the time against wind resistance mainly, but in the hilly ups and downs you're not pedalling much at all on the down runs. If you live on higher ground, as I do, you always have a gradient on the last part of a journey

[Ayesha]

Once upon a time, the Audax UK handbook made the suggestion that 8 kCals/min was about right for a Randonneur at 20 kmh average speed for a 200 km ride.

This advice was removed from the handbook after ‘peer review’ by an AUK member who was a doctor, Machinehead and me.

At ‘touring’ and Randonneuring speeds, an average of 25 kCals per kilometer and additional 25 kCals per every 100m of climbing is about right for the TOTAL calorific spend of a sensibly dressed cyclist in ‘average’ British weather.

( Average British weather is 12 Deg C and an 11 mph SSW breeze. Sensible dress is Long sleeve jersey over baselayer and ‘training longs’ over shorts. )

There is no need to get more accurate than this.

For a 100 km Brevet Pop with 1000m climbing, the TOTAL calorific spend will be approx. 2750 kcals. If you wish to lose ½ lb fat, eat 1000 kCals on top of your normal daily maintenance diet.

[dazza500]

That sounds excellent! So about 50cals per mile. I'm doing 12-14mph average, 600cals an hour.
I'm not sure what you're recommending by way of diet - 1200 cals more than my recommended 2200 cals pet day to lose half a pound on a 100km ride?

If I was riding for 5 hours I probably would eat slightly more than my rda for calories, but 1200 seems a lot!

[Tigerbiten]

If I was riding for 5 hours I probably would eat slightly more than my rda for calories, but 1200 seems a lot!

If the 5 hour ride was a one off/ once a week thing, then you would probably get away with eating a lot less that day.
If you were riding 5 hours a day- 6 days a week then it sounds about right if you don't want to run out of energy at some point.

[snibgo]

1200 kcal/day doesn't seem massively high to me. I reckon on 2000 kcal/day when I'm riding all day every day for a week or more, resulting in no weight gain or loss.

But it does depend on your riding and metabolism etc. And, as Tigerbiten says, we can exercise hard for a single day without needing to eat much more.

I've never tried to lose weight, but it seems to be simple maths: calories_in < calories_out. And ensuring the food is good: complex carbs rather than sugars, etc. Proper meals, no snacks.

I reckon calorie-counting is difficult because there are so many unknowns, especially calories_out. But I suspect if you eat normally (good food, no junk food) AND work hard for two hours a day you'll probably see some results.

[dazza500]

It was the advice to eat 1200 cals on top of the 2000! I was querying

I've tried a few things, Graeme Obree in his training book advised listening to your body and what it needs.

My body wants cakes and craft beers!

Shut up body! !

[Tigerbiten]

I was eating around 3,000 kcal a day for 17 weeks when I was on tour and steadily losing weight at the rate of just under a kilogram a week.
In that time I covered 4,000 miles by cycling a steady 6-7 hours a day, 5-6 days a weeks on my bent trike.
Hence I would say around an extra 1,200 kcal a day sound about right, if you are pushing it a bit and cycling that much day in day out.
If it only a one off you will/should have enough reserves to not need that much extra food.

[Mick F]

I took up cycling again in 2004 after an eight year lay-off and my weight went up. In those eight years, I got older too.

Two years later, in 2006, people convinced me that I should ride LE to JOG, but I went one better and did LE to JOG and Back Again. 1,800miles in three weeks.

Here's an excerpt from the end of my blog.

My weight had many people guessing. I was weighed before the start at 13st 2lb. At 50p a guess you took a stab at my finishing weight. I can reveal now that I lost a little. I was weighed in at 12 stone 11 and a half pounds. Not much of a loss I know, but I bulked out on my legs, and muscle is heavier than fat. I lost a bit around my face, neck, shoulders and tummy. The sweepstake raised £24.

Since then, I've continued to lose weight, and I'm now down to 12st 3lb.
This is nothing to do with dieting. It's all to do with good exercise and good wholesome food.

[soaysheep]

I'm like Mick For,I dont really bother about my weight, I just get out on the bike and try to avoid eating junk and I just sort of stay in shape.
Obviously if you have problems like congenital diabetes this complicates matters immensely, but I still think the same rules apply - don't watch the scales, take more notice of how you are feeling and try not to eat too much processed food.

I'd go as far as to say cut it out entirely but that's not always practical or enjoyable if you like that sort of stuff, definitely cut back on sugar intake . I don't eat any bread or pasta anymore and I feel a lot better for cutting high carbohydrate content foods out.

My mileage varies between 150 and 200 miles a week, mostly over hilly terrain, I don't use a pulse monitor but I do try and keep a 15 mph average speed which certainly burns a load of calories. Good luck with your weight loss!

[reohn2]

I'm trying to lose a few pounds over the winter. There seems to be a lot of confusion over what kind of calories are burnt per hour over varying terrain/Road types and surfaces. The best I can find is 450 cals/h normal riding on flat terrain.

But this varies enormously and some sources quote 8-900 cals per hour. Does anyone have any definitive peer review data?

I live in fairly undulating countryside with a few steep hills. So, long rides at medium pace or short ones with intensity?

Any advice/resources greatly appreciated

Here's the best data;ride hard,ride long,eat less.
You'll lose weight,if you don't,eat a little less,ride a little harder.
BTW drink water when riding

[meic]

So, long rides at medium pace or short ones with intensity?

I thought it was generally accepted that moderate exercise over a long time period was the way to lose weight. The shorter high intensity isnt meant to be as good. The longer high intensity leads to "bonk" so people eat to compensate.

I cant be bothered doing the research, possibly something like you have enough ready fuel (glycogen) for 40 minutes and after that you burn off fat. If your rate of exercise is too fast then it can not burn fat quickly enough.

[Mick F]

I would agree with that statement. It seems like common sense to me. Steady moderate exercise without burning yourself out.

[Ayesha]

There are reports that say doing a short high intensity effort every day does not induce hunger, but triggers the body’s system to increase metabolic rate.

I’ve had a go at this in four weeks in the winter of 2010 by going on my ergometer and ‘whacking it’ for only ONE minute as fast as I can without any warm up.
My daily Cal intake was limited to 1800 kCals, I drove to work and rode no Audax rides.

In four weeks, I lost 11 lbs.

When I got back on my bike, I felt as if I hadn’t left it.

Now the secret is out....

[Mick F]

My daily Cal intake was limited to 1800 kCals.

How do you do that?
How do you know?
What did you eat?

What about beer?
I couldn't exist without beer.

[dazza500]

I've heard a few times (usually from skinny mallinkys!) That a high intensity work out, even only a * few minutes a day can help you increase your metabolic rate by 25% over the course of a month.

I might give it a whirl